https://www.scmp.com/rss/503006/feed Harry Pearl was a Production Editor for the China Economy desk at the Post. He previously worked in Indonesia as a correspondent with Agence France-Presse. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com The Biden administration’s ban on products from a Chinese company in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region over alleged human rights abuses is expected to complicate solar supply chains and create new challenges for US companies trying to cut exposure to the region. Last week, the US announced a ban on silica-based products containing materials from Xinjiang-based Hoshine Silicon Industry and updated its trade blacklist to include Hoshine; Xinjiang Daqo New Energy; Xinjiang East Hope Nonferrous... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3139062/us-ban-chinas-xinjiang-solar-products-linked-alleged-forced?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3139062/us-ban-chinas-xinjiang-solar-products-linked-alleged-forced?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 28 Jun 2021 16:00:25 +0000 Ahead of this week’s summit of global leaders to discuss ways of tackling climate change, this South China Morning Post series looks into how attitudes have changed among China’s leadership, the challenges faced by the world’s largest polluter and what we can expect from Thursday’s meeting. When China pledged in September to reach carbon neutrality in four decades and peak emissions before 2030, it was a watershed moment in the global fight against climate change. But seven months later, one... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3130313/can-china-really-kick-its-coal-addiction-achieve-carbon?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3130313/can-china-really-kick-its-coal-addiction-achieve-carbon?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Apr 2021 21:30:16 +0000 China’s expansion of its oil and gas pipeline network is putting it on a “collision course” with its ambitious target to reach carbon neutrality by 2060, according to a report published on Tuesday, while simultaneously raising the possibility of making billions of dollars of assets obsolete. More than US$1 trillion in fossil fuel pipeline projects are under development globally, researchers at Global Energy Monitor found, threatening Paris climate goals and recent pledges from major economies,... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3120174/chinas-2060-carbon-neutral-pledge-incompatible-expansion-oil?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3120174/chinas-2060-carbon-neutral-pledge-incompatible-expansion-oil?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Feb 2021 05:29:54 +0000 China’s pledge to become carbon neutral by 2060 has been hailed as a critical step towards slowing global warming and one that could turn the nation’s next five year plan into “the most crucial document in global energy market history”. But how China will achieve the goal and whether it will reign in support for coal-fired power at home and abroad remains unclear. President Xi Jinping’s announcement on Tuesday at the annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly would require China to... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3102826/chinas-carbon-neutral-energy-pledge-adds-more-weight-14th?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3102826/chinas-carbon-neutral-energy-pledge-adds-more-weight-14th?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Sep 2020 07:30:10 +0000 China risks being left behind as South Korea and Japan signal a shift away from financing overseas coal power in response to growing criticism over their support for the dirty fossil fuel. The three countries are the top global lenders for coal energy infrastructure, bankrolling projects beyond their borders through export credit agencies and developing new markets to export coal plant technology. But there are signs that Japan and South Korea may be preparing to scale back official support amid... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3097259/china-slow-curb-coal-financing-japan-south-korea-accept-new?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3097259/china-slow-curb-coal-financing-japan-south-korea-accept-new?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 15 Aug 2020 04:00:09 +0000 Far from treating the coronavirus pandemic as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to speed up decarbonisation and lock in climate goals, there are signs China is falling back on its old playbook of pumping cheap credit into fossil-fuel heavy energy projects to help the economy recover from a historic first quarter contraction. Following a dramatic plunge in energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions at the start of the year, China’s energy sector is roaring back to life. Daily consumption of... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3094098/chinas-coronavirus-recovery-drives-boom-coal-plants-casting?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3094098/chinas-coronavirus-recovery-drives-boom-coal-plants-casting?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Jul 2020 13:00:10 +0000 The US economic policy response to the coronavirus crisis and the threat of financial sanctions on China have reinvigorated criticism in Beijing over US dollar hegemony, but few analysts see a viable alternative currency emerging any time soon. Chinese officials have recently taken aim at the unprecedented coronavirus stimulus in the United States, which has seen American debt levels balloon and stoked concern in Beijing about the devaluation of the US dollar assets held by Chinese financial... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3092147/us-coronavirus-stimulus-reignites-chinas-criticism-dollar?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3092147/us-coronavirus-stimulus-reignites-chinas-criticism-dollar?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Jul 2020 10:30:11 +0000 China’s economy showed a further rebound in June thanks to a faster recovery in manufacturing and services, but weak foreign demand and downward pressure on employment showed there is still some way to go to reach pre-coronavirus levels. The Caixin/Markit manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI), released on Wednesday, rose to 51.2 last month from 50.8 in May, beating analysts expectations and showing production at smaller Chinese factories was improving. The 50-point mark separates... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3091298/chinas-small-factory-activity-continued-strengthen-june?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3091298/chinas-small-factory-activity-continued-strengthen-june?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Jul 2020 02:02:19 +0000 China’s manufacturing sector continued to suffer from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic in May, as data released on Wednesday showed factory gate prices plunged at a faster pace last month. The producer price index (PPI), reflecting the prices that factories charge wholesalers for their products, fell 3.7 per cent year-on-year in May, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed, the sharpest decline since March 2016. That was worse than April’s reading of a 3.1 per cent decline... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3088336/chinas-factory-prices-continued-fall-may-consumer-inflation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3088336/chinas-factory-prices-continued-fall-may-consumer-inflation?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Jun 2020 01:39:29 +0000 When 20 Indonesian fishermen boarded the Chinese vessel Long Xing 629 in February last year, they had no idea what kind of high seas hell awaited them. The seamen, aged between 20 and 35, said they were sometimes forced to work for up to two days without rest, subjected to violence and discrimination, and faced hunger and dehydration. Within 13 months, four of them were dead. Three of the bodies had been dumped overboard before the rest of the crew finally disembarked in South Korea last month.... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/3084015/indonesian-fishermen-who-died-chinese-boat-faced-abuse-21-hour-days?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/3084015/indonesian-fishermen-who-died-chinese-boat-faced-abuse-21-hour-days?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 May 2020 08:31:02 +0000 China’s Belt and Road Initiative is struggling to shrug off the impact of supply chain ruptures, travel restrictions and stringent border controls caused by the coronavirus pandemic, as the spectre of project delays and cost overruns raises questions about the viability of future projects. China’s economy has shown tentative signs of recovery after being battered by the coronavirus early in the year. Draconian containment restrictions are being lifted. Factories are beginning to hum again and... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3081585/coronavirus-chinas-belt-and-road-plan-hits-roadblock-virus?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3081585/coronavirus-chinas-belt-and-road-plan-hits-roadblock-virus?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Apr 2020 08:00:15 +0000 China’s manufacturing sector continued to suffer from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic in March, as data released on Friday showed factory gate prices contracted at a faster pace last month. The producer price index (PPI), reflecting the prices that factories charge wholesalers for their products, dropped 1.5 per cent year-on-year last month, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). That was worse than the 0.4 per cent fall in February and the 1.1 per cent contraction tipped... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3079325/coronavirus-chinas-manufacturing-prices-plunge-again-march?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3079325/coronavirus-chinas-manufacturing-prices-plunge-again-march?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Apr 2020 01:38:26 +0000 The coronavirus crisis has sparked fears that China's long-term environmental goals, including its ambitious carbon trading system, could be shelved as the government scrambles to get the economy back on track. China’s growth had already slowed to record lows before the coronavirus sent the economy into a tailspin, with industrial production, retail sales and investment all then plunging at double digit rates in the first two months of the year. Analysts have downgraded China’s growth forecasts... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3076663/coronavirus-fears-mount-chinas-transition-greener-economy-may?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3076663/coronavirus-fears-mount-chinas-transition-greener-economy-may?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Mar 2020 07:30:13 +0000 China’s consumer inflation expanded at its fastest pace in more than eight years in January, as pork prices soared due to the coronavirus epidemic and stronger demand over the Lunar New Year period, official data released on Monday showed. The consumer price index (CPI) rose 5.4 per cent from a year earlier, up from a 4.5 per cent gain in December, and at its highest point since October 2011, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed. The result was above an analyst poll by... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3049762/chinas-consumer-inflation-nine-year-high-ppi-stays-subdued?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3049762/chinas-consumer-inflation-nine-year-high-ppi-stays-subdued?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Feb 2020 02:00:46 +0000 Nearly two decades after losing its shine to China, the “Silicon Valley of Southeast Asia” is regaining its competitive edge as a growing number of multinational firms look to Malaysia to escape the effects of the US-China trade war. The Malaysian island of Penang has seen a surge of foreign investment over the past 18 months, with companies operating in China scrambling to take advantage of its long-established electronics sector and evade US tariffs that have been slapped on hundreds of... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3048044/china-manufacturing-exodus-us-trade-war-tariffs-spur?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3048044/china-manufacturing-exodus-us-trade-war-tariffs-spur?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 31 Jan 2020 01:00:12 +0000 China’s growing economic strength is seen by most people as positive, but the country’s rise as a global superpower is not making it popular with neighbors in the Asia-Pacific, a survey released on Thursday showed. The survey of nearly 39,000 people in 34 countries by the Pew Research Center also showed the world had an overwhelmingly negative view of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Over the past 70 years, China has transformed itself from an economic backwater to the world’s second-largest... https://www.scmp.com/politics/chinas-economic-clout-welcomed-most-world-asian-neighbors-remain-wary-pew-survey/article/3040901?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/politics/chinas-economic-clout-welcomed-most-world-asian-neighbors-remain-wary-pew-survey/article/3040901?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Dec 2019 10:25:56 +0000 China’s growing economic strength is seen by most people as positive, but the country’s rise as a global superpower is not making it popular with neighbours in the Asia-Pacific, a survey released on Thursday showed. The survey of nearly 39,000 people in 34 countries by the Pew Research Centre also showed the world had an overwhelmingly negative view of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Over the past 70 years, China has transformed from an economic backwater to the world’s second largest economy and... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3040781/chinas-economic-clout-welcomed-most-world-asian-neighbours?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3040781/chinas-economic-clout-welcomed-most-world-asian-neighbours?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Dec 2019 15:00:12 +0000 Global retail sales growth will slow in 2020 as the sector grapples with the continued effects of the US-China trade war and increased online competition, a report released on Wednesday said. Sales growth by volume will decelerate to 2.2 per cent next year, compared with 2.5 per cent in 2019, The Economist Intelligence Unit said. However, growth will accelerate in US dollar terms, rising by 4.8 per cent to reach US$20.2 trillion. “It's a mixed picture for retailing in 2020. Although there will... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3040610/trade-war-hong-kong-protests-forecast-hit-global-retail?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3040610/trade-war-hong-kong-protests-forecast-hit-global-retail?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Dec 2019 10:06:31 +0000